Wind Images
by Amelda Marcos
Summary: This is my addition to the excerpt of The Will of the Empress, the new circle book that's coming out this year. Tris is looking through the images in the wind when Briar had a nightmare. It may just be a oneshot, depending on what the readers want.


Disclaimer: Characters and the place belong to Tamora Pierce. 

Authors Note: This story is based on the excerpt from The Will of the Empress, to be released some time this year. The link to the excerpt can be found on my page.

Tris sat on the roof and peered into the winds. It had been by chance that she had found the trap door in the roof. She had summoned the winds to carry her up since there was no ladder. She sorted through the many pictures assaulting her looking for anything relating to the adventures her friends had had during the years of separation. She remembered that Niko had said that winds usually kept the more important images for years but they could only be seen if a mage looked specifically for them.

At first she just saw images of her sleeping friends below her and Sandry at the palace. Quickly she checked on Glaki and Little Bear. Chime flew around Tris watching for danger as she usually did when Tris watched the winds, Tris had tried to explain that she wasn't in any danger at the new house but Chime didn't seem to accept the explanation. Tris focused on the roaming winds that might have passes Briar or Daja sometime during the past few years. She wanted to look for Daja and Briar images before ones with Sandry because she assumed Sandry would be easier since she could just look in the local winds. After staring into the winds for hours she became frustrated, all she had found was one image of Briar eat with Rosethorn and a person who Tris assumed to be Evvy. The image added to the conclusion that Briar hadn't learned any new manners while being away from his foster sisters, in fact he seemed to have slipped back into some of his old habits.

Tris shrugged off the feeling that she was spying on her friends, she just wanted to check up on them. She knew if they had gone through anything like she had then they were unlikely to have told the whole story, especially Briar. He was also the one she was most concerned about.

Sighing Tris decided to see if she could find a wind to tell he about Sandry. She sorted images for a while with no avail when suddenly a strong breeze blew past her and assaulted her with images of rocks flying through the air, plants burning, and screaming people. They felt so real she tried to close of her connection but she was caught. Never before had this happened and she started to panic.

In one of the rooms below Briar threw off his sheets. He had been woken up from his nightmares once again. He breathed heavily but despite the sounds he himself was making he heard the shrill whistle of Chime. The creature unnerved him, after all it had tried to bite at his vine like tattoos, but Briar got up and went to find what was bothering it. He figured it might have had something to do with Tris, she had been looking rather pale the entire night. He followed it's cries into the attic then noticed the slight draft blowing through it. Looking around he finally found the trap door leading to the roof. He pushed a few boxes under the opening, stood on them, and pulled himself up through the opening.

The first thing Briar saw was Chime flying frantically around a dark shape. Walking closer he saw that the shape was Tris. She was hunched over and shaking but appeared to be staring at something quite close to her. Alarmed, Briar ran over to her and shook her but Tris didn't come out of her trance. Although Briar didn't realize it, his dreams had to big of a hold on her and weren't ready to let her go. Briar tried everything but nothing brought her back to the world. Finally he sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap and into his arms. Her shivering slowed and eventually came to a stop. He sat there holding her for another half hour.

The images surrounding Tris began to thin out and Tris began regaining control. Gathering all her strength, and inadvertently some of Briar's, she pulled herself out of the winds control. The last image she saw was Briar caught in a house surrounded by flames. She collapsed into a dead faint and it took Briar a few minutes to sake her up.

Tris opened her eyes and saw Briar's anxious face looking down at her. Next she realized that Briar had his arms around her and was holding her tight. Her face became bright red and she tried to pull away from Briar but he wouldn't let her go.

"You scared me to death! If it hadn't been for Chime I wouldn't have found you and then you might have stayed up here in a faint all night! What happened to you?" Briar asked with worry.

Tris looked at him and after some thought grew suspicions that she must have seen a nightmare of Briar's, why else would he be up. "How long have you been here?" she asked, disregarding his question.

Briar answered for he knew Tris wouldn't answer him till he answered her. "About forty-five minutes."

Tris frowned, wondering why she would have kept on seeing his nightmare when he was awake, perhaps their bond was too deep. Turning to him she answered his question without really answering it. "The question shouldn't be what happened to me but what happened to you Briar Moss, and when you were going to tell us about your nightmares!" She felt anger growing in her, one of the people she cared most about in the entire world didn't trust her with the terrible things she had seen. The anger turned into sadness and she had to blink away tears.

Seeing her reaction and their friendship, Briar was able to figure out what she was thinking. "I'm sorry Tris, I just didn't want to worry any of you and I didn't want the bag to fuss over me, you know how she gets. Besides, Niko told me about some things you conveniently left out in your letters. How did you know about my nightmare?"

Tris looked up at him and said, "If you talk to me about your nightmares and what happened on your travels then I'll tell you about how I knew and the other stuff that happened to me. Deal?" Briar nodded and Tris smiled. they began telling each other the entirety of their journeys, from the first time they met their students to graver matter like the murder Tris had caught. Both exclaimed many times with disbelief and other times laughed at the ridiculousness of the reactions each had received. By the time both stories had been told and other things explained the sun was starting to rise and both had forgotten that Tris was still in Briar's arms.


End file.
